LITCHFIELD, Conn. - A man who spray-painted large cannabis leaves on his house has agreed to remove the bright green paintings as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors.

Christopher Seekins, of Winsted, was arrested in October when police discovered about 100 marijuana plants in his house. He said they were hemp and part of a research project.

After his arrest, Seekins painted images of the green leaf on his Victorian-style house, each accompanied by the word "hemp." Town officials say they received several complaints because Seekins' home _ on High Street _ is visible from Winsted's main thoroughfare.

Seekins has said the large leaves were painted in support of legalization of marijuana. He also believes in the usefulness of hemp, a biological relative of marijuana that is used in products from soap and cosmetics to rope and luggage.

Seekins, 26, pleaded guilty Thursday in Litchfield Superior Court to a charge of growing marijuana and Supervisory State's Attorney Andrew M. Wittstein agreed to three years probation. He was also barred from painting the leaves on his house again.

The state agreed to drop other charges, such as possession of marijuana with intent to sell. Seekins will have to perform 300 hours of community service and refrain from possessing or using illegal drugs.

My Scout Troop goes through a lot of rope, for pioneering projects and such. We were at one of those reenactment days, and one of the vendor booths was selling hemp products, including rope. So I bought 100' of 1/4" hemp rope for our use.

It's a lot more flexible than manila rope. The fibers are more numerous and much finer. This actually makes it more difficult for the boys to splice, as they have little practice at it. That same property, however, makes it easier on the boys' hands when they go to tie knots and lashings. It's much stronger than sisal (the charts say it's about 10% stronger than manila), which is even coarser than manila rope is. I have yet to see how well it does lashings, but I expect it would be superior to manila in that regard.

Seekins, 26, pleaded guilty Thursday in Litchfield Superior Court to a charge of growing marijuana and Supervisory State's Attorney Andrew M. Wittstein agreed to three years probation. He was also barred from painting the leaves on his house again.

He got off easy. According to the pot activists he would have had all his property confiscated and served hard time, and his entire life ruined.

Here in northern Indiana, there were fields of hemp planted by the US government during WWII for making product such as rope. It still grows wild. Every year a few punks get busted picking the stuff. They don't realize it has zero potency.

(from article)He was also barred from painting the leaves on his house again.

The state agreed to drop other charges, such as possession of marijuana with intent to sell. Seekins will have to perform 300 hours of community service and refrain from possessing or using illegal drugs.

Doesn't the government know what is best for us? Shouldn't they be running every aspect of our lives?>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Thomas Jefferson He who governs least, governs best.

Thomas Jefferson A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have.

24
posted on 05/05/2006 4:42:22 PM PDT
by winston2
(In matters of necessity let there be unity, in matters of doubt liberty, and in all things charity:)

Sorry, my question was ambiguously worded. Your statement, "According to the pot activists he would have had all his property confiscated and served hard time, and his entire life ruined" implies that "pot activists" say that EVERY person who gets arrested for intent-to-distribute amounts of pot has all his property confiscated, serves hard time, and has his entire life ruined. Can you produce any quotations that prove your claim that "pot activists" say this?

29
posted on 05/05/2006 8:28:01 PM PDT
by Know your rights
(The modern enlightened liberal doesn't care what you believe as long as you don't really believe it.)

Tell you what. I'll point it out on the next pot thread where it occurs, which should be what, 40 minutes from now? Nobody cares except you, who wants to split hairs. Anybody who reads the thousands of pot threads that you and your cohorts post knows that when all else fails, you'll get the violin music going with the claim that pot users endure draconian punishment from the state.

As to whether it's every case, nobody cares. That's beside the point. The point is that somebody who got caught with 100 plants, and then was stupid enough to paint the pot symbol on his house was more worthy of the draconian punishment that the histrionic pot activists claim. Nobody cares if the claim is for every case, except pot activists such as yourself. I'm not playing your game of diversion.

Your statement, "According to the pot activists he would have had all his property confiscated and served hard time, and his entire life ruined" implies that "pot activists" say that EVERY person who gets arrested for intent-to-distribute amounts of pot has all his property confiscated, serves hard time, and has his entire life ruined. Can you produce any quotations that prove your claim that "pot activists" say this?

Tell you what. I'll point it out on the next pot thread where it occurs

Tell you what ... I won't hold my breath; I've never seen it before and I don't expect to ever see it.

Nobody cares except you, who wants to split hairs. [...] I'm not playing your game of diversion.

Words mean things; pointing out what your words meant is neither "splitting hairs" nor a "game of diversion." You tried to score cheap points with a bogus claim and got caught. Deal with it.

32
posted on 05/05/2006 9:00:03 PM PDT
by Know your rights
(The modern enlightened liberal doesn't care what you believe as long as you don't really believe it.)

I made it clear for you what I meant. This guy deserved worse punishment than what the activists usually claim happens to pot users who get caught (Which you claim doesn't exist. Fine, I don't care. I'll let the readers decide. I'm not going off on a diversionary chase.).

If they don't claim it happens to every pot user who gets caught, there is no basis for your statement, "According to the pot activists he would have had all his property confiscated and served hard time, and his entire life ruined."

You tried to score cheap points with a bogus claim and got caught. Deal with it.

34
posted on 05/05/2006 9:11:36 PM PDT
by Know your rights
(The modern enlightened liberal doesn't care what you believe as long as you don't really believe it.)

This is just one pot thread of thousands. It isn't a court room. See you on the next pot thread, or the next, or the next , or the next, LOL! As to what I said and what you said, I'll let the reader decide.

Disclaimer:
Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual
posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its
management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the
exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.